Hearts and Arrows
by DC-Desperado
Summary: JAQxAILA- After the defeat of Luc all became calm. Unfortunatly ripples made in Jacques' past could lead him into trouble, but the power of the heart throbs on. Rated M for Sexual Situations, Language, and Violence of course.
1. Everything has to have a beginning

Hearts and Arrows

Prologue

It has been about one year since the end of Luc's quest of death. The 12th defense force was in Calaria resting and enjoying there vacation time, everyone but Jacques. You see after the final battle Aila and the other Karaya members headed out into grassland to find a place to build a new home. Not being able to share his true feelings with Aila during there quest Jacques asked her to meet him by the lake of the Northern Caverns, there he would tell her how much he adored her and wished to be with her.

When that dreadful day came Jacques stood there in the rain for a day.Finally Geddoe found him and without a word handed him a note from Aila.

"Dear Jacques,

By the time you get this note I have gone into grassland with everyone. I wish I could have met you and got to hear what it was you wished to say to me. I don't now where it is that we will go so the chances of meeting you are very low. I hope that you can forgive me for not being able to hear your voice.

Aila"

Shortly after reading this letter Jacques tossed it into the lake. " I'm sorry" Geddoe said softly. Jacques just remained silent with his back turned towards him

Chapter one

"Wow, what has Jacques so down?" Ace said with a slight chuckle in his voice.

"You heartless lecher of a man, how can you be so blind!" Queen yelled

Fully aware that he was the center of the argument Jacques stood up and walked out of the bar leaving his full glass of soda that he only looked at for about three hours on the table. Unburdened by their questions Jacques went to the nearest tree out side the gate. Before climbing, he instantly remembered the time he was teaching Aila to shoot arrows without loosing her balance.

"So I put my back against the trunk of the tree and sit with my legs swaying in the opposite direction of were I'm firing," Aila ask to reassure her guess.

"... Yes," Jacques answered.

"It's not that hard to do. Gee, I thought there was some super technique to do that," she added.

"... No," he answered.

"Thanks Jacques, now the defenders of justice just go stronger," she giggled.

Jacques just worn his traditional expression and said, " I guess.."

Jacques would have drifted deeper into his memories but they were interrupted when a man burdened with extensive wounds approached him.

"... Just as he said. You there, are you the man known as Jacques?" the man asked as he tried to fight off the pain that still plagued him.

"... I am," he answered.

" May the...earth spirit...be praised." The man then fell limp in Jacques' arms as the plague of death has finally struck the man down.

Jacques laid the man down. Finally, realizing that the man wore the clothes of the Karaya clan, Jacques desperately tried to reawaken the corpse, but to no avail. After examining the body, Jacques noticed a hunk of leather in the man's right hand. He quickly grabbed it and began to study it. It did not take long before Jacques' heart nearly stopped beating and his blood ran thin. The symbol on the leather was that of the True Pale Gate Rune with the True Blinking rune in the center of it. Jacques knew this symbol all to well and fear of the fate of the Karaya clan began to become anger, and without saying a thing to the rest of the group, he left.


	2. The Path to Ones Heart

Chapter two

Jacques found himself on a wild goose chase for information on the Karaya clan's whereabouts. He first went to see Franz of Le Buque. Franz knew little about it but could point him in the direction of someone who could, Sgt. Joe of the Duck clan. He went north to see if Sgt. Joe had gotten word from Hugo about their whereabouts. Unfortunately the Karaya clan could not yet give a disclosed location on where they have settled. Hugo could only leave a riddle.

"Follow the setting sun to the place were we all had our finest hour. Then go from were the tallest fallen pillar points and travel till you see the where you can find the music of the wild that never sleeps and head east."

For Jaques the first part was easy, he was talking about the Ceremonial Site, and without a thank you or an answer to the riddle, which was what Sgt. Joe was hoping for, turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

Night was soon upon him as he found himself on the outskirts of the Plains of Amar. Jacques laid on his back and stared at the stars. "It's funny...I never really...took time to stare at...the stars." Jacques murmured.

"Aren't they beautiful," Aila asked.

"..." Jacques tilted his head to the side as to show his confusion.

"...The stars, thier really pretty, right," she asked once more.

"Are you sure we are allowed on top of Thomas' mansion," Jacques asked.

"Hey! You did not answer my question," she scowled.

"... Sorry" He apologized then looked up at the stars, "I guess you could call them pretty."

"Just watch carefully, you never know what is going to happen," she began to say as a shooting star passes by. "Wow did you see that? That was amazing!"

"... Yes" Jacques stated." I heard that if you were fortunate enough witness an event like that then you should make a wish."

"...Really? Well ok, but you make one too." She demanded in a playful kind of way. They both closed their eyes and made a wish. There were a few minutes of silence between the two but they both knew what they wished for, their faces got closer and closer until there lips were about to touch, which was something the two of them had wanted for sometime now, Just when Ace Interrupted the two.

"Wow, where you two just about to... then that means... and then... and what would have happened if I did not come here." he rambled. " Well whatever, you two need to go to bed right now, we have that huge battle in the morning." Jacques looked back at Aila whose face was really red with embarrassment and she ran down to her room, leaving Jacques with a million questions.

It did not take long before Jacques fell asleep to the image in his head.

The next morning he sent out on the trail to his star crossed love. It was only a matter of hours before he reached the ruins of such a undesirable place. Jacques instinctively climbed the only standing pillars. It was there that confusion came into play. Jacques was wise enough to know that the higher elevation would allow him to see all the pillars equally without having to walk and measure every one of them. But there was something odd; all the pillars were the same length. He even got down and measured them and marked the ones that he measured with an arrow, it took to sunset to mark every pillar. Jacques, who was on the pillar once again, looked at the riddle again.

" Follow the setting sun to the place were we all had our finest hour. Then go from were the tallest fallen pillar points and travel till you see the where you can find the music of the wild that never sleeps and head east."

" What does this mean." Frustration was starting to grow in his voice. " What secret are you hiding Hugo?" He asked himself. Jacques folded the piece of paper up and placed it into one of his many pockets as he watched the shadow of the pillar he was on top of grow farther and farther. Finally it hit him like a bolt of thunder. He quickly pulled out his crossbow a shot three arrows into the shadow of the pillar to mark his direction. Then he climbed drown the pillar and set up camp for the night.


	3. The Journey is almost to an end

Chapter 3

Jacques awoke to a surge of pain throbbing from his left cheek. It did not take him long to realize that he was not alone. He stood to find Queen standing in front of him, behind her was Joker with his arms folded, Ace almost laughing to see Jacques get smacked instead of him, and Geddoe not looking very happy. " What are you doing out here? Do you know how long we were looking for you? Why didn't tell us that you wanted to see her," Queen asked sharply.

"...sorry," Jacques answered lightly.

"Sorry? Sorry! Your a Mercenary now, you can't jus-" Queen started

" Queen that's enough," Geddoe butted in, "she is right though. What made you want to run the whole way into the middle of grassland for? A girl? If that's the case then you could have just asked us. We all have business with the Karaya clan."

"...I-Its more than...just that," Jacques started.

" Than what is it?" Geddoe asked in confusion.

Jacques reached into his pocket and pulled out the hunk of Karaya leather with the symbol on it. "This was the emblem of the resistance faction I was in 12 years ago in a small country far north of Harmonia. There we tried to overthow the dictator Hen-shi Sorwoshi," Jacques explained

"We?" Joker asked

"...My best friend Leonardo, and the other members," Jacques quietly answer.

"So, what does this have to do with the Karaya clan?" Ace asked even more confused than ever.

"Well...On our last mission we were to storm the castle just as the watch was changing this way we could get in more silently and if that did not work we still had the element of surprise. Everything was going according to plan, we all got through the front gate and we were not discovered until we got half way between the front gates and the castle. When the battle started our men ran head on to create a hole big enough for him and I to get through. Arrows were flying every where, sword made sparks after every clash or clang, the screams of the dying still echo through my body. We eventually got inside, we had just captured the son of a bitch, andI wasabout to make him wish he had never taken my parents away from me. I was only 7! That's when I felt a surge of pain through my left shoulder; it was an arrow, Leonardo's arrow. I turned to see that my best friend had become my executioner. With the True blinking rune in his possession he teleported me to a realm of complete darkness, complete loneliness, complete cold," Jacques explained. His face was a little red having not said that much at one time. Everyone looked stunned. They never knew anything about his past and boom this was dropped into their laps.

"Ha... your story has two flaws, one how did you escape the realm? Two how did you survive in a realm of nothing," Ace said smiling, thinking that he just pulled the last jinga block and down Jacques' story would go.

"... Well, he must have lost concentration or released me willingly... it wouldn't of mattered anyway," Jacques answered

"Well how did you live without food?" Ace demanded with a swell of frustration in his voice.

"... Well...that's simple." Jacques held out his right hand. His head started to glow a pale purple-ish color until you could see the symbol of the True Pale Gate rune. "You see Luc's plan would have fallen through seeing as though he did not have every true rune."

"What!" Everyone gasped.

"So you see... I have to go to the Karaya village before he can kill more people." Jacques turned and followed his little arrow path.

"Then we are going with you," Geddoe said volunteering everyone.

And so they were off to the next clue and hopefully a still living Aila.


	4. Evil revealed

Chapter Four

"You know I am going gonna have to fill out a report on this," Ace stated.

"What are you worried about, it just gives you more time to right love letters to Elaine," Joker answered to Ace's complaint.

"Are you implying something their old man," Ace questioned

"Old man? I'll have you know that I can still kick your ass you womanizer. Don't you know when someone's not interested," Joker replied angrily.

"Elaine is just too scared to say what her heart wants to," Ace started.

"I don't think her heart can throw up," Queen added.

The sound of birds chirping filled the crisp, cool breeze as they came upon a grove of trees. It did not take Jacques long to realize that this was the music of the wild. Using the sun as a compass Jacques found which way was east. "Jacques, how come you did not say anything about your rune when we first met,"

Queen asked.

" ...I was aware of Luc's plan for about a week before meeting you guys. If I were to reveal my secret to you all there would be no doubt in my mind that he would have found out and we all may have failed...I only wish I knew his plan of action," Jacques explained.

"You sure do talk a lot more now, why is that?' Queen Asked.

"I normally speak whenever its important to say something or ... if I have a question," he replied.

They continued walking for about two hours before a definite sign of life appeared.

"... Smoke, Jacques stated

"Do you think we are too late," Ace asked Geddoe.

"We'll know once we get over this hill," Geddoe answered.

Jacques was the first over the hill in front of them, which was to be expected. What he saw had to have been the most joyous and reliving site to be seen, the village was all right.

They made their way into the village everyone seemed to be happy to see the 12th at their gates. They saw many happy faces and got many hellos as they entered the village. "Looks like you found us," chief Lucia greeted them. "My apologize Geddoe but we could not take any chances until we were sure that we could defend ourselves from another attack."

"Well you sure left some pretty hectic clues on how to get here," Geddoe replied.

"Clues? I did no such thing. No one has left here in almost one year." Lucia said, "Hugo do you know anything about this?"

"No... I've been training the warriors most of the days this year," Hugo answered

"Sgt. Joe said that this was from you," Jacques said as he handed him the riddle.

"I could not have even come up with such a riddle of this magnitude," Hugo defended himself.

"Jacques!" A familiar voice rang from a Karaya girl running towards them.

"Aila," he answered the call.

"What are you doing hear? How did you find us," she questioned while hugging him.

"I came to see you," He said with a warmer voice.

"I told you I would take your heart next," a deep dark cold voice echoed. "So this little vixen has become the object of your desire, hmmm I've seen you fight when you are angry... now lets see if I can really piss you off." And with that being said Jacques and Aila were teleported into what seemed to be a floating metal plate hanging over a pit of lava. " Lets play a little game shall we? If you can run the obstacle course in under two minutes and tag your little sweet heart before she dies than you two will live happily ever after and never hear from me again. But if you lose she dies and you and I will fight without the power of these runes. Sound like fun?"

"Why don't I just kill you now and then we will decide our own fate," Jacques stated.

"Awww... but where is the fun in that? Plus I have your little friend here," Leonardo said pointing to Aila who was hanging from a rope over the molten lava.

"Jacques, help me," She screamed.

"Now, what do you say old friend," Leonardo taunted.

"... Begin," Jacques answered.


End file.
